Oregon
Katie Fiso’s journey through loss fuels Oregon Women’s NCAA Tournament run
Players to watch in the 2026 Women’s NCAA March Madness Tournament
USAT’s Sam Cardona-Norberg and Meghan Hall give a few of their favorite players they will be keeping an eye on in the women’s March Madness tournament.
Sports Seriously
AUSTIN — Save your gripes about NCAA referees. Oregon women’s basketball guard Katie Fiso contended with much more hostile officiating conditions in her driveway.
Fiso grew up playing one-on-one against her twin brother in games so competitive that punches were sometimes thrown. As referee, their dad swallowed his whistle.
The family motto? “You don’t see no blood, there’s no foul,” Fiso said with a grin.
As Fiso stood outside Oregon’s locker room on Thursday and reminisced on those driveway battles, she admitted she never thought she’d be here: Putting together a breakout sophomore season and leading the No. 8 seed Ducks into a first-round NCAA Tournament game against No. 9 seed Virginia Tech on Friday.
It’s a bittersweet moment for Fiso, whose eyes fill with tears when she thinks of two people who aren’t here to witness it. Last winter, in the middle of Fiso’s freshman season at Oregon, her dad and her grandfather died within two weeks of each other.
Their memories will inspire Fiso when she takes the court for the Ducks this week.
“Basketball has always been an outlet for me, kind of like (to) get away from all this reality. When I step off the court, it’s like I step into the reality and realize he’s not here no more,” Fiso said. “I have a lot of passion for this game because I love it so much, so that’s where I get my love from. I do it for my dad, I do it for my grandpa, I do it for all these people, I do it for my family. So it’s very intentional when I’m on the court. I don’t take any moment for granted.”
Her father, Joseph Fiso was the one who taught Katie and her five siblings the value of hard work and grittiness on the basketball court. He woke them up at 6 a.m. every Saturday to go to the YMCA, where Katie played against boys much older than her and learned to stand her ground.
“I would always get pushed around, I would always get crowded so hard and my dad was like, ‘Hey, go harder at her!’” Fiso recalled. “Like, I would be in here getting D’d up by these old men. But I didn’t realize that it actually was helping me over time, in the long run.”
On Dec. 4, 2025, Joseph was in Eugene to attend Katie’s game. The morning of Oregon’s matchup against Washington State, Joseph Fiso died in his sleep at the hotel.
Grief threatened to swallow Katie whole. Basketball was a reminder of everything she and her dad shared.
Almost immediately after she found out about his death, Fiso got back in the gym to shoot hoops and clear her mind. She bawled her eyes out. Being on the court was at once painful and a relief, but Fiso learned to use the sport to tap into her emotions instead of to escape from them.
“I was definitely second-guessing myself and my worth,” Fiso said. “My mind was all over the place. Trying to be in the game and also dealing with life stuff was definitely difficult. So I took it upon myself over the summer to work on myself and not keep all those feelings inside, actually feel them. So that’s when I tapped in a lot to my faith and it gave me that confidence, that my worth is not in this basketball because it’s so fleeting and up and down, but it’s in someone who is always gonna love me and say ‘It’s OK, you’re always perfect in my eyes.’”
After playing 9.7 minutes per game and averaging 3.1 points off the bench for Oregon as a freshman, Fiso is now a full-time starter who leads Oregon in average minutes (32), points (15.3) and assists (6.3).
She’s playing with new confidence that accentuates the Ducks’ depth and allows her to feel free on the court. When she makes a mistake, she brushes it off and realizes that it doesn’t determine who she is as a basketball player.
“It’s a blessing to be here in this spot,” Fiso said. “Not a lot of people get this opportunity to be at this stage and play at this high level, so I’m thankful. I feel like all those days I was playing with my brothers and playing with my siblings, it helped me prepare for moments like this.”
Oregon coach Kelly Graves has known Fiso since her older brother was a practice player for Graves’ Gonzaga team. Graves followed Fiso’s career at Garfield High School in Seattle, where she won three state championships – a fourth was in reach before the pandemic prematurely ended the season – and was voted Washington state’s Gatorade Player of the Year.
Graves already knew Fiso’s potential when she arrived in Eugene, but he didn’t fully see it emerge until a breakout game at the end of her freshman season. In the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Fiso shot 4-of-6 from the field and scored eight points in 19 minutes in Oregon’s first-round win against Vanderbilt.
From there, Fiso only continued to build.
“I think once she realized, ‘Hey, this is kind of my team,’ you saw how she embraced that role,” Graves said. “Even though she’s just a sophomore, she’s the one that’s leading the group. She’s leading the huddles, leading practice, and that’ s not easy for someone her age, but she’s got it in her.”
Fiso is one of several Oregon players who adjusted to new roles this season. Sophomore forward Ehis Etute, the nation’s No. 2 offensive rebounder, and junior guard Ari Long both stepped into the starting lineup after coming off the bench last season. So did junior guard Sofia Bell, who spent last season getting her rhythm back after an injury curtailed her freshman season. Senior forward Mia Long, a transfer from Fresno State, is new to the program but provides a veteran presence.
“Our players have done a pretty good job of not just accepting their roles necessarily, because they can evolve and change, but executing them,” Graves said. “These are homegrown kids that again, didn’t play much. You look at Katie and Ehis, they had very small roles last year. Ari, a supportive role. Sofia Bell to some degree. And that’s four of our five starters so I’m proud of that. They have developed, they have gotten better, they figured out what they need to do to get playing time and they’re making the most of it.”
Fiso deftly balances her scoring responsibilities with slinging dart passes to her teammates. She ranked second nationally with seven points-assists double-doubles this season, the most by a Duck since Sabrina Ionescu in 2019-20.
“I would say I’m more of a finesse, get downhill type of girl, but I’m also a playmaker,” Fiso said. “I got a little swag in my game.”
Graves said Fiso shares intangibles with two of the prolific point guards he’s coached, Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot.
“She’s got that same mentality and I think that’s why you’re seeing her succeed now,” Graves said. “But she’s still a work in progress. She’s got a long ways to go and she’s going to continue to get better and better, but she’s going to have a great pro future, I think.”
Oregon
Kotek signs sweeping immigrant justice package expanding school, healthcare protections in Oregon
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – Gov. Tina Kotek held a ceremonial bill signing Thursday morning for a package of immigrant justice laws at the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization in northeast Portland.
The package includes multiple measures affecting schools, courts, workplaces, law enforcement and healthcare:
- House Bill 4079 requires K-12 schools and higher education institutions to adopt policies for responding when federal immigration authorities enter campus property.
- House Bill 4111 prohibits using a person’s immigration status as evidence in civil cases, expands protections against workplace retaliation tied to work authorization updates and broadens profiling laws to include immigration status.
- House Bill 4114 allows civil action against individuals who enter certain property without a warrant or legal exception.
- House Bill 4138 requires law enforcement officers to clearly identify themselves and limits the use of masks.
- Senate Bill 1538 ensures equal access to public education by requiring school districts to admit all eligible students.
- Senate Bill 1570, known as the Healthcare Without Fear Act, requires hospitals to establish policies for interactions with law enforcement and designate restricted areas not open to the public.
- Senate Bill 1587 restricts public agencies from sharing personal data with brokers unless it will not be used for federal immigration enforcement.
- Senate Bill 1594 directs the state to develop model policies related to immigration status in response to federal actions.
The healthcare measure requires hospitals to set procedures for law enforcement presence, assign a staff liaison and classify immigration status and place of birth as protected information. It also allows providers to share information about immigration rights and legal services with patients.
SEE ALSO: Multnomah County unanimously approves ordinance expanding sanctuary protections
The law follows changes at the federal level that removed prior limits on immigration enforcement in locations like hospitals and schools. Supporters say the new policy aims to ensure patient privacy and maintain access to care regardless of immigration status.
Oregon Republicans have raised concerns that state policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities could affect public safety. In a Feb. 2026 statement, the Oregon Senate Republican Caucus criticized Democratic lawmakers for rejecting a proposal that would have required coordination with federal officials when people without legal status are convicted of serious crimes.
Republican leaders said the policy debate centers on whether state agencies should notify federal authorities before releasing people convicted of violent felonies. Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr called such coordination “common sense.”
Copyright 2026 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.
Oregon
Pivotal recruiting target for Ducks lists Oregon in top 5 schools
After the de-commitment of four-star Drew Fielder, the Oregon Ducks are back to the drawing board at the offensive tackle position for the 2027 recruiting class. They still have three-star Avery Michael, though he recently took a visit to Nebraska and doesn’t appear to be fully locked onto the Ducks.
That’s why the recruitment of four-star Caden Moss is gaining importance by the day, with the talented offensive tackle listing Oregon in his final five schools alongside LSU, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Ohio State.
Moss is the No. 5 OT and No. 58 player nationally, per 247 Sports Composite. He competes for Jackson Academy in Jackson, MS, where he’s the top-ranked player in the state.
Standing 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds, Moss already has the prototypical frame of a college lineman. At the high school level, he relies more on his physical ability than technical skills. Despite that, there appears to be untapped potential with his frame and athleticism, with nearly every high-level program in the country attempting to land his commitment.
The Mississippi native visited Eugene in late March, writing in a post on X: “Enjoyed my time in Oregon.”
“My visit was great,” Moss told Rivals. “What stands out to me most about playing for Oregon is the development in the o-line room. The city was more than I expected. I heard it’s really nice in the summertime.”
The pairing of Michael and Moss at the tackle spots would be very beneficial for the Ducks program in the future, adding two talented players on the bookends of the offensive line. If Moss were to commit, he’d add his name to what is currently the No. 10 recruiting class and join offensive players in Michael and three-star running back Cadarius McMiller as future Ducks.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
Oregon
Governor signs bill to help Oregon farm stands flourish; chief sponsor Breese-Iverson celebrates improvements
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Governor Tina Kotek joined Oregon farmers, advocates, and legislators at Topaz Farms on Sauvie Island on Wednesday to commemorate the signing of House Bill 4153, a bill from this year’s legislative session that protects existing farm stand permits and gives farmers new options to support the long-term success of their farms.
“Oregon’s family farms are the backbone of our rural economies, and this bill will help them adapt and succeed,” Kotek said. “This new law gives certainty to farmers who diversify their revenues through agritourism and on-site sales while still preserving and honoring the farmlands that make Oregon special.”
The law creates an optional permit for farms that want to open a small farm store on land zoned for farming. It also provides clearer guidelines for agritourism activities such as farm tours, educational exhibits, hayrides, and seasonal events while ensuring these uses serve as a supplement to farming activities, not a replacement.
“Agriculture collectively provides the largest economic impact to Oregon. It is the foundation of our state,” said the bill’s chief sponsor, state Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson (R-Prineville). “This bill is a true example of what happens when ag champions come together for the industry and Oregonians. Signing HB 4153 into law secures a future for family farms in Oregon.”
Breese-Iverson said the new permit overcomes the limitations of the previous law, which in many cases could prohibit family-friendly structures, require strict income caps, and not allow educational events.
Under the new law, she said, a farm operation will be allowed to sell farm products, offer local goods from other producers, and host limited agritourism events such as pumpkin patches, corn mazes, flower festivals, and farm tours at their farm store.
The Central Oregon lawmaker says the bill gives counties modern, clear, and enforceable rules to regulate access, egress, parking, hours of operation, noise, sanitation, and public health and safety. The bill prohibits using a farm store as a residence, hotel, café, or drive-thru.
HB 4153 was developed though a robust process with a broad coalition of stakeholders, including the governor and her advisory staff, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Department of Land Conservation and Development, Oregon Property Owners Association, Oregon Farm Bureau, Association of Oregon Counties, and farmers across the state.
Topaz Farm co-owner Kat Topaz said, “At a time when most of us feel helpless, everyone together made this bill happen. It would have never passed without the overwhelming support from the public.”
“Oregonians want to connect with farms and the farmers who grow their food. So many advocates made this happen: lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Farm Bureau, the Association of Counties and of course, the governor, who has been a huge supporter from the start.”
Others who joined the ceremonial signing include state legislators and representatives from the Oregon Farm Bureau, Travel Oregon, the Oregon Property Owners Association, the Association of Oregon Counties, Plumper Farms, Frog Pond Farm, Packer Orchards, Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, and former State Senator Betsy Johnson.
Governor Kotek signed the legislation on a Topaz Farm picnic table that was surrounded by letters she received from students in Lincoln City who supported the legislation because of the enrichment opportunities available to them on farms in their region.
The law takes effect on Jan. 1, providing time for farmers and counties to learn more about the updated framework.
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